Vibration actuated pivoted thread holder for looms



Oct. 17, 1944. H. A. WHITIN VIBRATION ACTUATED PIVOTED THREAD HOLDER FOR LOOMS Filed March 20, 1944 mmwm, {QM/KM tion of arrow 2, Fig. l,

Patented Oct. 17, 1944 VIBRATION ACTUATED PIVOT'ED THREAD j .HOLD'ER FOR LOOMS Herbert A. Whitin,.Worccster, Mass, assignor to ,Crompton & Knowles Loom Works, Worcester,

Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Application March 20, 1944, Serial No. 527,230

io-claims. (c1.1s9 247) This invention relates to. improvements in thread holders for looms'and it is the general object of the invention to provide a thread holder actuated by the vibration of the loom and made of two members one. of which is pivoted and is actuated by the other member. V

It has been proposed, heretofore to actuate. thread engaging geared, members by a vibration motor' depending for its operation upon loom vibration. Such mechanisms operate satisfactorily on medium weight yarns but as heretofore constructed "the vibration motorhas not always been strong enough to turn the geared members when the latterengage a large mass of weft threads. It is an important object of my present invention to provide a thread holder having two coacting parts one of which comprises a member secured to and vibrating with the loom and the other comprising a pivoted member which is oscillated periodically by a force derived from the first member. The second member carries the geared members and movement thereof relatively to the first member is caused to actuate feeding mechanism, such as a pawl and ratchet,device,;

connected to one of the geared members.

It is a further object of my invention to construct a thread holder having two members which move at different rates, one of the members being,

constructed as a pendulum and having its own period of oscillation due to its length and independent of the period of vibration of the other member. 'In order that the rate of oscillation of the pendulum-member maybe changed it is a further object of my invention to provide means by which the pivot of said member can be altered to cause the member to oscillate faster or slower ishing side of the Tooth having attached thereto a thread holder made according to my present invention, 7

Fig. 2 is an enlarged end elevation of the thread holder and geared members looking in the direc- Fig. 3 is an enlarged side elevation looking from the center of the loom in the direction of arrow 3, Fig. 1 and showing the parts in the position which they occupy when at'rest,

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 but showing the pivoted member swung away from the actuated member, a condition which exists during loom operation,

Figs. 5 and 6 are enlarged detailed sections on lines 55. and 6 6, .respectively, of Fig. 3,

Fig. 7 is an enlarged section through the'lower part of the pivoted and actuator members, showing the actuating pawl for the ratched wheel, and

Fig. 8 is a vertical section on line 8-8 of Fig. '7.

Referring particularly to Fig. 1, I have shown a loom frame In, lay and picking mechanism l2 to actuate a shuttle S. A magazine M is provided with reserve bobbins B from which extend weft ends W to a thread holder designated generally at'H. The magazine includes in its construction a tie rod l3 to which is-secured an arm l4 and outwardly from the loom. Except for the behind the magazine and extending downwardly lower part of arm I4 the matter thus far described is of common construction and is set forth to illustrate a type of'loom in which my invention may be used. a

The arm M has formed on the outer or lower end thereof ahead 20 provided with a rib 2| received by a slot 22 formed in the upper end 23 of an actuator arm 24. The lower end of arm 24 has a rod 25 extending therethrough and held in adjusted position by lock nuts 26 and 21; A spring pawl 28'is held as at 29 to the right-end of rod 25, as shown in Fig. 7. Located above the rod 25 is an'actuator screw 30 tapped into the arm 24 and held in adjusted position by lock nut 3|. A bolt 32 passes through a slot 33 in head 20 and is tapped into theupper part 23 of arm 24, see Fig. 5, and serves to hold the actuator armrigid with respect to the arm I3. The slot permits horizontal adjustment of the actuator arm 24 relatively to head 20. The right end of head 2! as viewed in Fig. 4 is provided'with top, intermediate and bottom bearings 35, 36 and 31, respectively. These bearings may be vertically aligned as shown in Fig. 4 and equally spaced, although thereof formed with three bearings 4|, 42 and 43,

respectively, which register with the bearings 35, 36 and 31, respectively, when the mechanism f it at rest and in the position shown for instance in Fig. 3. A bearing pin 45 passes through an aligned pair of bearings in the head 20 and the .in Fig. 4 the pivot pin is in the upper aligned bearings 35 and 4|, while in Fig; 3 the pivot pin 45 passes through the intermediate aligned bearings 36 and 42. It will be apparent, however, that the pivot pin could also pass through the bottom aligned bearings, although this relationship is not shown in the drawing. Whatever the position of the pivot pin 45, however, the arms 20 and 40 will maintain their relative vertical position when at rest.

The lower end of arm 40 has attached thereto a thread holder of a type very similar to that set forth in Payne Patent No. 1,842,731. This thread holder comprises a box-like casing 50 on which are rotatably mounted front and back thread engaging geared members and 52, respectively, see Fig. 2. The weft ends W pass between these geared members and the latter rotate in a direction tending to move the weft ends away from the magazine, thereby keeping the ends taut and above the lay The box or casing 50 may be secured to arm 40 by bolts 55 or in any other approved manner. Within the box or casing is located a ratchet wheel 56 secured to shaft 5'! to which geared member 5| is secured. Geared member 52 is mounted on a second shaft or stud 58 rotatable on the casing. It is customary to provide this second shaft 58 with an adjustable bearing which, however, has been omitted from the drawing, but is shown in Payne Patent No. 1,979,765.

When the loom is at rest the arms 24 and 40 are at rest and maintain the position shown in Fig. 3. In this figure the arm 40 and the casing 50 are presumed to hang freely under their pivot and actuator screw 30 is set to engage the arm 4|] without, however, moving the latter appreciably from its position of free and undisturbed suspension. Under these conditions the pawl 28 will engage the ratchet wheel 56, and the gears 5| and 52 will of course be at rest. When the loom is set in operation arm l3 will vibrate and cause the actuator arm 24 to vibrate in a horizontal direction toward and from the casing 50. When arm 24 moves toward casing 50 due to vibration the arm 40 will be given a right hand movement from the position shown in Fig. 3 to that shown in Fig. 4 by the actuator screw 3!). The pendulum unit including arm 40 and casing 50 will have a rate of oscillation determined by the location of the pivot pin 45 and this period will be independent of the rate of vibration of the actuator arm 24. During right hand movement of the ratchet wheel with the casing 50 the pawl will have a relative motion on a non-working stroke to take hold of a new tooth of the ratchet. When the pendulum unit swings back to the left the pawl will cause the ratchet to turn in a left hand direction as viewed in Fig. 4 and thereby cause turning of the geared members 5| and 52 in a direction to tension the weft ends W.

It is found that the period of vibration of the actuator arm 24 is much shorter than the period of oscillation of the pendulum member and it is this difference in periods of movement which cause the pawl to turn the ratchet. If the pivot pin is in the top pair of aligned bearings as shown in Fig. 4 and the particular loom'to which the thread holder is attached vibrates in such a manner and at such a rate that the pendulum member does not cause turning of the ratchet. the pivot pin may be moved into the intermediate or bottom aligned pair of bearings. As the pivot pin is lowered the pendulum becomes shorter and therefore has a more rapid rate of oscillation and the adjustment afforded by the three aligned pairs of bearings permits a setting of the pendulum unit which will cause proper actuation of the ratchet.

It is obvious that if the pendulum unit should move too far away from the actuator arm 24 the pawl would move out of engagement with the ratchet wheel and spring up to such position as would interfere with proper return of the casing 50 to the position shown in Fig. 3. In order to prevent too great a motion on the part of the pendulum unit I provide a stop pin 10 secured 'to and extending horizontally from the rod 25.

.Pin 10 is of sufficient length to engage the wall on the sides of slot 6| through which the pawl and its rod 25 pass. Pin 10 is so located that the pawl never assumes such a position with respect to the ratchet wheel as to interfere with return movement of the casing 50.

Hereinbefore I have stated that the actuator screw 30 should engage the pivoted arm 40 when a pendulum unit hangs freely from its pivot, but I .do not wish necessarily to be limited to this exact relationship, inasmuch as it has been found that the casing 50 can be caused to oscillate if the actuator arm 24 is slightly to the right or left of the position shown in Fig. 3.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided a thread holder, comprising two members which oscillate at different rates, one of the members being a pendulum unit which has a period of vibration determined by the location of its pivot. It will also be seen that provision is made for changing the location of the pivot so that the period of oscillation of the pendulum unit may be increased or decreased in order to vary the difference of rate between the actuator member and the pivoted member. It will also be seen that means are provided for limiting the movement of the pendulum unit to prevent improper relationship between the pawl and the ratchet.

Having thus described my invention it will be seen that changes and modifications may be made therein by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and I do not wish to be limited to the details herein disclosed, but what I claim is:

1. In a thread holder for a weft replenishing loom having weft ends extending from reserve bobbins, a member fixed to the loom and vibrating during loom operation, a member pivotally mounted on the loom, geared elements rotatable on said pivoted member to tension said weft ends, a ratchet on said pivoted member operatively connected to one of said geared elements, and a pawl on the first member engaging said ratchet wheel, the first member due to vibration thereof imparting movement to the pivoted member in one direction and said pivoted member thereafter having a return movement due to gravity, said pawl effective during one of said movements of the pivoted member to turn the ratchet wheel.

2. In a thread holder having geared elements rotatable to tension weft ends extending from reserve bobbins in a weft replenishing loom, a

' member secured to and vibrating with the loom when the latter is in operation, a second member pivoted with respect to the first member and having said geared elements rotatably mounted thereon, a ratchet wheel on said pivoted member operatively connected to one of said geared elements, and a pawl on the first member to engage the ratchet wheel, relative movement of said members causing said pawl to turn said ratchet wheel and said members being so related that vibration of the first member due to loom operation causes pivotal movement of the second member relatively to the first member.

3. In a thread holder having geared elements to engage weft ends extending from reserve bobbins in a weft replenishing loom, a support fixed to the loom and vibrating during loom operation, an actuator arm secured to and vibrating with said support, a pendulum unit pivoted on said support and having said geared elements rotatably mounted thereon, a ratchet wheel fixed with respect to one of said geared members, and a pawl on said actuator arm engaging said ratchet wheel, vibration of said actuator arm due to loom vibration causing pivotal movement of said pendulum unit to effect relative movement between the pawl and the ratchet wheel to cause turning of the latter.

4. In a thread holder having geared elements I rotatable to tension weft ends extending from reserve bobbins in a weft replenishing loom, a support secured to and vibrating with the loom during loom operation, two members mounted on said support, one of said members being fixed with respect to the support and the other member being pivoted thereto, one of said members having said geared elements rotatably mounted thereon, a ratchet wheel on said one member operatively connected to one of said geared elements, and a pawl on the other member engaging the ratchet wheel, vibration of the member fixed to the support causing pivotal movement of the pivoted member to effect relative move-' ment between the pawl and the ratchet wheel to cause turning of the latter.

5. In a thread holder having geared elements rotatable to tension weft ends extending from reserve bobbins in a weft replenishing loom, a pendulum member pivoted with respect to the loom and having a given rate of oscillation and having said geared elements rotatably mounted thereon, a ratchet wheel on said member operatively connected to one of said geared elements, a second member secured to and vibrating with the loom at a rate difierent from said given rate during loom operation, and a pawl carried by said second member and operative due to relative movement of said members to turn said ratchet wheel, said second member effective due to vibration thereof to cause pivotal movement of said pivoted member.

6. In a thread holder having geared elements rotatable to tension weft ends extending from reserve bobbins in a weft replenishing loom, a member pivotally mounted with respect to the loom and having said geared elements rotatably mounted thereon, a second member vibrating during loom operation and effective due to said vibration to cause swinging of said pivoted member relatively to the first member, and mechanism operative due to relative movement of said members to cause rotation of said geared elements.

7. In a thread holder having geared elements rotatable to tension weft ends extending from reserve bobbins in a weft replenishing loom, a support secured to the loom, a member suspended from said support for free pivotal movement relatively to the support, an actuator member secured to said support and vibrating during loom operation, said actuator member due to vibration thereof causing free pivotal movement of said suspended member, and mechanism operative due to pivotal movement of said suspended member to cause said geared elements to rotate.

8. A thread holder unit comprising an arm having provision for an attachment to a part of a loom, said unit comprising an actuator fastened to said arm, a member pivoted on said arm, geared elements rotatably mounted on said pivoted member, and mechanism to cause rotation of said geared elements due to relative movement of said actuator arm and said pivoted member.

9. A thread holder unit'comprising an arm having provision for an attachment to a part of a loom, said unit comprising an actuator on said arm, a member pivoted with respect to said arm, geared elements rotatably mounted thereon, mechanism to cause rotation of said geared elements due to relative movement of said actuator arm and said pivoted member, and means to limit angular movement of said pivoted element in a direction away from said actuator.

10. A thread holder unit for the weft ends of a weft replenishing loom, said unit comprising an arm having provision for attachment to the m, a pendulum member pivotally mounted on said arm, geared elements rotatably mounted on said member for engagement with said weft ends, a ratchet wheel supported by said member and operatively connected to one of said geared elements, and a pawl supported by said arm and. effective due to pivotal movement of said pendulum member with respect to the arm to cause turning of said ratchet wheel.

HERBERT A. WHITIN. 

